Welcome to Common Essay Questions! In this lesson, we’ll cover the four types of essay questions you’ll encounter most often on your law exams. They are: issue spotters, short essays, applied-skills problems, and policy queries.

I. Issue Spotters

The predominant essay question in law school, and the one that appears on every bar exam in the nation, is the dreaded issue spotter, which you might also call the long essay. The issue spotter comprises two basic components: a hypothetical fact...